Sheriff's Office IDs man found dead in the cold

By Staff Reports

Published: Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 10:32 AM.

GRACEVILLE — Authorities have released the identity of a man found dead in a plowed field off Spruce Road on Monday.

Benjamin Jed Taylor, a 37-year-old who lived near the Holmes County line, was found dead in the cold Monday. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying his death doesn’t appear to be criminal in nature.

An autopsy has been conducted to determine how Taylor died, but an investigator with the Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday the case is pending further study.

Deputies had been involved in a car chase in which a suspect escaped on foot in the same area the day before Taylor was found, but there’s no evidence of any connection between the chase and Taylor’s death.

Deputies also responded to a report of a suspicious person in the area earlier Monday. The man left the area on foot and deputies searched the area but couldn’t find him. The description of the man, who was described as disoriented and wearing weathered clothes, matched Taylor.

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GRACEVILLE — Authorities have released the identity of a man found dead in a plowed field off Spruce Road on Monday.

Benjamin Jed Taylor, a 37-year-old who lived near the Holmes County line, was found dead in the cold Monday. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying his death doesn’t appear to be criminal in nature.

An autopsy has been conducted to determine how Taylor died, but an investigator with the Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday the case is pending further study.

Deputies had been involved in a car chase in which a suspect escaped on foot in the same area the day before Taylor was found, but there’s no evidence of any connection between the chase and Taylor’s death.

Deputies also responded to a report of a suspicious person in the area earlier Monday. The man left the area on foot and deputies searched the area but couldn’t find him. The description of the man, who was described as disoriented and wearing weathered clothes, matched Taylor.